On Sunday July 23rd an Ebay auction I had up for a Macbook Pro 2.2Ghz ended with the winner as vrotennis. This winner had 148 ratings, all positive. This looked good. That's a higher rating than I have. I got an email through ebay's system from the buyer asking how much shipping would be to this address:
Connie Graham
Abon-Yaschick St. #3, 8
Mirzabeyli
Moscow
125480
RUSSIA
I sent an invoice through Ebay and got the $2100 from a Verified Paypal account with that name on it. No verified address though. So I asked why there was no verified address. This was the reply:
In Russia we don't have an address with paypal accounts, because it's
only possible with credit card registration.
Russian's paypal accounts can be funded only by bank account & they
are verified by banks,
not by credit cards. That's why I don't have an address in paypal.
But as you can see
- I'm paypal verified member (you can click on my payment to see the >
details of the transaction)
That seemed reasonable at the time. Only now do I know that there ARE no Russian paypal accounts of any kind.
The money was in. The english in the email gave me no reason to doubt. It sounded like an American exchange student to me, given the name.
So I packed the computer.
Here's the computer inside it's own box.
Here's it in the box.
And here's the label on the side with the Serial Number.
It left the US on July 26 for Moscow with the tracking #EQ726752752US
That day, Paypal put a hold on the payment saying that the account was claiming Unauthorized Access. I went to the post office, but they couldn't contact anyone to try to get it stopped. I also emailed the Russian post office. The box won't stop at customs because the one thing that they asked me to do which I should have not done was declare $150 value on the customs form. I thought it was a reputable person just trying not to pay 50% duty on something they were buying. Turns out the vrotennis ebay account was hacked. They sent me an email telling me not to honor the deal a day after I mailed it. And the paypal account was a real account, but it belonged to the same person that lost their ebay account. So someone had their bank account emptied with the money that went to me for awhile. I've contact the postal inspector. And the FBI's Internet Crime Division. And Ebay. And Paypal. I have no hope, but it's all I can think to do.
Update: The money had cleared and was transferred to my bank BEFORE paypal decided to take it back and before I sent the box. So I had to transfer it back to not have a -$2k balance.
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- (Anonymous) : Lesson learned [+4]
- (Anonymous) : Too bad, but you should now know better. [+2]
- (Anonymous) : time to close my papypal account [+0]
- (Anonymous) : Paypal Says... [+5]
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- d14bl0 : (no subject) [+3]
- (Anonymous) : "reputable person" [+2]
- (Anonymous) : bad luck or negligence to read paypal policies [+2]
- (Anonymous) : Similar happened to me [+3]
- (Anonymous) : Happened to me, too [+2]
- (Anonymous) : Dude [+0]
- (Anonymous) : You should have known [+3]
- (Anonymous) : You shoulda let Paypal try and get the $2k [+1]
Comments
Be sure, that man couldn't get the item without any ID in Postal office. That's the rule for everyone.
Remember — the computer won't get to the post, only a custom's notification.
And to get stuff from Russian custom one has to show an ID. In our case — a passport.
So if you'll make FBI to do something, you still have a chance to get it back.
My brothers mac was shipped in 3 different boxes, it needed drivers to install his camera, it did not come with video editing software built in, and so on.
Those commercials are bogus.
Looks like they should have some Russian scumbag run into the scene, grab the box and run away....
Regardless, sucks to be you bro. Good luck getting it back.
It is not worth the possible frustration in the event you get ripped off, because whatever country the person lives in is not really going to care that much about investigating to get your money or merchandise back.
On the other hand, if Paypal tells you to ship it, it should really be their problem. It seems as if Paypal's system got broken in to (or is just broken) and they're just trying to pass the buck to you. They're the ones who should be out $2000. I say sue 'em.
I know they'll say something like it's the user's fault but blame the medium of transaction, they'll probably rather reimburse you than hire a lawyer.
2. Be wary when sending things overseas to strangers
3. Honesty is the best policy. You tried to skirt the rules by not declaring the proper value, and you have payed dearly for it.
4. With large transactions, always verify the identity of the other party.
I think greed got the better part of you, you didn't due your homework and you got burned. Paypal has a lot of problems, but you should accept responsibility for this one yourself. You screwed up, learn from it and move on.
They say this multiple times. Paypal sucks, but you did everything you could to make it easier for the crook to take your money.
BTW - why ship so fast? Wait till the money transfers into your account first.
IMO, the brunt of the fault in this is on Paypal itself; it should not be the responsibility of User B if User A's account was breeched. It's identity theft, for sure, but there are insurance guards against that. I can't imagine why they can't cover the costs of hacked accounts - they should be legally required to. At the very least, it would be supreme motivation for them to halt hacking altogether.
How would his credit card company be able to help him here?
Well what's there is there, I hope you get your money back. Good luck.
Ebay quickly delisted the items and refunded me listing fees when I alerted them...
Probobly from the 419'ers, or someone linked to them.
You should have not been so trusting, and for the record, you did get pwned :)
-chandleya
I have a small account in a bank far from where I live that is linked to pay pal. If I get something via pay pal I get the cash in my hand via the PayPal Visa card at the local ATM... only then is the money in my hand. Otherwise wait two weeks. Everything else is just 1s and 0s.
Sorry you had to learn this the hard way.
Probobly from the 419'ers, or someone linked to them.
You should have not been so trusting, and for the record, you did get pwned :)
Paypal skirts way too many banking laws by not calling itself a bank... but it's true, there is no better alternative to ebay cash, but there is so very little protection for the consumer.